Wheelchair exercise apparatus having independent drive rollers

ABSTRACT

An exercise apparatus for users of wheelchairs which have a pair of side-by-side driving wheels includes a pair of rollers which support the wheelchair driving wheels. The rollers rotate independent of one another and each roller drives a separate flywheel which has a brake attached to it.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exercise apparatus for use by people in wheelchairs are well known. These apparatus typically operate by supporting the driving wheels of the wheelchair on a roller which is connected to a flywheel. A brake is provided on the flywheel to allow a variable amount of resistance to be asserted against the driving wheels. However, these prior art apparatus are not capable of informing the user if more force is being applied to one of the driving wheels than is being applied to the other, and do not allow a different amount of resistance to be applied to each driving wheel. The prior art apparatus also do not allow the user to rotate each driving wheel at a different speed to simulate turning the wheelchair. In addition, the prior art apparatus are configured for use with a traditional wheelchair, having two large side-by-side driving wheels located at or slightly behind the seat and two smaller side-by-side rotatable wheels located at or slightly forward of the seat. Thus, they do not work for sports or racing wheelchairs of the type having a single front wheel which is located further forward of the driving wheels than in a conventional wheelchair and is centered between the driving wheels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An exercise apparatus for a wheelchair having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels includes a pair of rollers which support said driving wheelers. The rollers are rotatably mounted on a platform which supports the wheelchair, are rotatable independent of one another and are arranged so that each driving wheel contacts one of the rollers. Each roller has a brake which allows resistance to be applied against the rotation of the associated driving wheel.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wheelchair exercise apparatus embodying the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, partially cut away to show hidden detail.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partially cut away to show additional hidden detail.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lock mechanism that is part of the subject invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a lock housing which is part of the locking mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a clamp which is part of the locking mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, an exercise apparatus for wheelchairs having a pair of spaced apart side-by-side driving wheels 10 includes a platform 12, which a wheelchair 14 can be wheeled onto. The platform is supported above the surface the apparatus sits on by a frame 16, and is large enough to completely carry the wheelchair. Located near the end of the platform that the wheelchair is wheeled onto is a pair of elongated side-by-side slots 18 which extend transversely across the platform. The centers of the slots are separated from one another by approximately the same distance that the driving wheels are separated from one another. As a result when the wheelchair is driven onto the platform each driving wheel 10 is located over its own slots 18.

A pair of rollers 20 are rotatably mounted on the frame 16 such that the rollers rotate separately from one another, and one of the rollers 20 is centered in each slot 18. The rollers are carried by a lever 22, FIG. 3, which is rotatably mounted on the frame 16 and allows the rollers 20 to simultaneously be moved between a lowered position, FIG. 1, where they are below the top surface 24 of the platform, and a raised position, FIGS. 2 and 3, where they extend through the slots and their upper surfaces extend partially above the top surface of the platform. In the raised position the driving wheels 10 located above the slots are lifted off of the platform and are supported by the rollers. A piston cylinder 26 is used to move the rollers between their lowered and raised positions. In a preferred embodiment the piston cylinder is an electronically activated cylinder that is operated by conventional means through a monitor and control panel 28 located on the apparatus. Other types of piston cylinders could be used.

A clamping mechanism 30, which will be more fully described later, holds the wheelchair 14 immovably with respect to the apparatus when the driving wheels are centered over the slots and the rollers are in their raised position.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, each roller independently drives a flywheel 32. A chain or belt 34 is used for this in the embodiment shown in the drawings but conventional means such as direct coupling through gears could be used for this purpose. Each flywheel has a brake 36 which is configured to apply a variable amount of resistance to rotation of its associated flywheel. In a preferred embodiment the brake is a particle brake which is mounted on the frame 16 and has a rotatable output shaft that the flywheel is mounted on. The brake is controlled through control panel 28. A line 37 connects the brake with the control panel 28.

A speedometer system 49 measures the rotational speed of each roller, and thus the rotational speed of each driving wheel, independently. In the embodiment illustrated the speedometer system includes a series of equally spaced apart radial lines 50 located on the end of each roller. A sensor 52, mounted on the frame 16, is aligned longitudinally with the axis of the associated roller 20. The sensors are connected to the monitor/control panel 28 and are calibrated with the lines 50 in order to show the rotational speed of the roller. The control panel could include a computer programmed to convert the time it takes for adjacent lines to pass the sensor into the rotational speed of a driving wheel located on the roller, or the resulting speed of the wheelchair if it were located on the ground. The rotational speed of each driving wheel or the speed of the wheelchair is then displayed on the monitor.

While the subject exercise apparatus can be used with any wheelchair having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels, the embodiment shown in the drawings is unique in that it can be used with a sports wheelchair which has a single front wheel 38 that is located forwardly of the driving wheels 10 and is centered between the driving wheels. This type of sports wheelchair is shown in the drawings as having a seat 40, which is located generally between the driving wheels, and an elongate tubular frame 42 which extends between the driving wheels and a fork 44 which carries the third wheel 38. In order to accommodate a sports wheelchair the apparatus includes a U-shaped trough 54 which is located forward of and centered between the longitudinal centers of the rollers 20. The trough 54 is slidably mounted on a track 56 which is attached to the platform. Located at the end of the trough is an upstanding stop 58 which angles slightly forward as it extends upwardly from the trough. A latch 60, mounted on the trough 54, is movable between a locked position where it engages the track and holds the trough immovable relative to the track, and a released position where the trough is free to slide along the track. The latch 60 can be actuated mechanically by a lever 61 and cable 67, or electrically through a solenoid (not shown) which is actuated through the control panel 28. The latch 60 is actuated when the driving wheels are located over the slots 18 to prevent the wheelchair from moving further forward.

Referring now also to FIGS. 4-6, a first clamping mechanism 63 is used for a regular wheelchair and a second clamping mechanism 62 is used for a three-wheel sports wheelchair. The clamping mechanisms are the same in most respects. They comprise a first mounting rod 64 which is rotatably mounted on the frame at each of its ends. A pair of lock housings 68 are slidably and rotatably mounted on the first mounting rod 64. A second mounting rod 70 extends slidably and rotatably through the lock housings 68 parallel with the first mounting rod 64. Clamps 72, located on each lock housing, lock the respective lock housing to the second mounting rod 70 when activated. Plates 74 connect the first and second rods rotatably at each end of the locking mechanism. An air cylinder 76 extends between each end of the second mounting rod and the frame. Thus the second mounting rod 70 can be rotated around the first mounting rod 64 when the clamps 72 are open, but the air cylinder 76 prevents the second mounting rod 70 from moving by itself. In addition the lock housings can be slid laterally along the mounting rods when the clamps 72 are open. An extension rod 78 extends slidably through each lock housing 68 perpendicular to the first and second mounting rods 64, 70. Clamps 79 are activated by levers 81 to clamp the extension rods to their respective lock housing. This adjustability allows the clamping mechanism to fit multiple sizes and shapes of wheelchairs. If the apparatus is being used with a regular wheelchair, a clamp 83 is mounted directly on both extension rods 78 which allows the clamp 83 to be attached to the wheelchair frame. If the apparatus is being used for a three wheel sports wheelchair the clamp 83 is mounted on a bent clamp arm 86 which is attached to one of the extension rods 78, which allows the clamp to be attached to the tubular frame 42 of the wheelchair.

In use having individual rollers 20 and speedometer systems 79 for each driving wheel allows the user to determine which arm is the strongest so that more resistance can be added to the other driving wheel in order to strengthen the weaker arm. In addition, having individual rollers reach a driving wheel allows the driver to simulate making turns.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow. 

1. An exercise apparatus for a wheelchair having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels, said apparatus comprising: (a) a platform having an upper surface configured to support said wheelchair; (b) a pair of elongate rollers rotatably mounted on said platform said rollers configured to rotate independent of one another; (c) said pair of rollers being located on said platform such that one of said driving wheels is supported above said platform by one of said rollers and the other of said driving wheels is supported above said platform by the other of said rollers when said wheelchair is on said platform; (d) a first brake associated with one of said rollers and a second brake associated with the other of said rollers; wherein (e) each of said first brake and said second brake is capable of applying a manually adjustable braking force to its respectively associated roller having a magnitude independent of that applied by the other one of said first brake and said second brake.
 2. The exercise apparatus of claim 1 including a speedometer system which measures the rotational speed of each of said driving wheels.
 3. The exercise apparatus of claim 2 wherein said speedometer system comprises: (a) a series of spaced apart lines located on each of said rollers parallel with a rotational axis of each of said rollers; (b) a sensor which measures the time it takes for adjacent lines to pass said sensor; (c) a control panel which converts said time to the rotational speed of the driving wheel engaged by each of said rollers; and (d) a monitor which displays said rotational speed.
 4. The exercise apparatus of claim 1 including a speedometer system which measures the speed at which the wheelchair would be traveling if located on the ground.
 5. The exercise apparatus of claim 4 wherein said speedometer system comprises: (a) a series of spaced apart lines located on each of said rollers parallel with a rotational axis of each of said rollers; (b) a sensor which measures the time it takes for adjacent lines to pass said sensor; (c) a control system which converts said time to the speed that said wheelchair would be traveling if located on the ground; and (d) a monitor which displays said speed.
 6. An exercise apparatus for a three-wheel wheelchair of the type having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels, and a single front wheel which is located forwardly of and laterally between said driving wheels, said exercise apparatus comprising: (a) a platform having an upper surface configured to support said three-wheel wheelchair; (b) one or more rollers associated with said platform which support the driving wheels when said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform; (c) a trough slidably mounted on said platform enabling a linear range of motion of said trough relative to said platform, and configured to receive said single wheel when said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform; (d) a stop associated with said trough which said single wheel engages, said stop configured to slide said trough along said platform as said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform; and (e) a latch manually accessible to a person sitting on said three-wheel wheelchair, and capable of selectively and releasably locking said trough in a fixed position along said linear range of motion, which can lock said trough to said platform when said driving wheels are supported by said rollers.
 7. The exercise apparatus of claim 6 wherein said three-wheel wheelchair has a longitudinal frame which extends between said driving wheels and said front wheel, including a clamping mechanism associated with said platform which engages said longitudinal frame to hold said three-wheel wheelchair immovably on said platform.
 8. The exercise apparatus of claim 6 including a track which is attached to said platform and slidably carries said trough.
 9. The exercise apparatus of claim 8 wherein said latch locks said trough to said track. 